The Escalating Feud Between Taraji P. Henson and Oprah Winfrey
Just when it seemed like the feud between Taraji P. Henson and Oprah Winfrey couldn’t get any worse, Mo’Nique and 50 Cent have joined the fray to expose Oprah for allegedly using and manipulating those around her to get her way.
This development follows Oprah’s threat to force Taraji into backtracking on her comments about Oprah and appear in a sit-down interview on Oprah’s show to do damage control.
For those who may not know, 50 Cent and Mo’Nique have been feuding with Oprah for years over claims that she blackballed them in the industry and attempted to destroy their careers.
They have been relentless in their criticism of Oprah, accusing her of being greedy and exploiting other entertainers to build her own multi-billion-dollar empire.
Tyler Perry told me, “Listen, you may really want to consider promoting this film because if you get nominated for an Oscar, your next film will be worth $3 to $5 million, and if you win, it will be worth $6 to $8 million.”
I said, “Tyler, who are you talking to? I’m a Black woman. Where do they pay those kinds of salaries?” I told him I cannot work for free; I have done what I was supposed to do.
I cannot go overseas to do this for free. Tyler said, “Well, I don’t believe in giving money away for free.” I replied, “I don’t believe in working for free, so we’re on the same page.”
In recent days, Taraji exposed Oprah for offering her a meager salary for her role in “The Color Purple.” According to Taraji, the initial amount Oprah offered was so low that she almost passed on the film entirely.
Taraji also revealed that she felt personally betrayed because Oprah, as a Black woman, should have stood up for her and done what was right, but instead, Oprah did the opposite.
Taraji added fuel to the fire by discussing Oprah’s treatment of her and other Black actors in an interview with Oprah’s close friend, Gail King. Taraji expressed frustration with being paid a fraction of what she deserved and witnessing similar experiences faced by her peers. She questioned why she should continue to endure such treatment if it only benefits herself and not the broader community.
While all this commotion was going on, people couldn’t help but notice how similar Taraji’s situation was to what Oprah had done to 50 Cent and Mo’Nique.
Back when 50 Cent was rising to fame with his music, he wanted to appear on Oprah’s show. This appearance would have helped him rebrand from a former drug dealer to a successful rapper and would have made his grandmother, a big Oprah fan, proud.
However, Oprah declined the request, making it clear that she wasn’t interested in what 50 Cent had to offer. 50 Cent took this rejection personally, accusing Oprah of being against Black music and even calling her an “Oreo” – Black on the outside, white on the inside.
He felt she catered to older white women and was against everything in his music, declaring that he would never appear on her show. He also named his dog after Oprah and his cat after Oprah’s bestie, Gail King.
Unfortunately, none of 50 Cent’s attempts to criticize Oprah seemed to have an effect. A few years later, Oprah took things even further with Mo’Nique.
Their feud began in 2009 when Mo’Nique starred in “Precious,” produced by Oprah and Tyler Perry and directed by Lee Daniels. The issue arose when Oprah and Tyler Perry forced Mo’Nique to go on a press tour for the film without any additional payment.
Mo’Nique refused to promote the film for free, stating that it was not part of her contract. She was only paid $50,000 for the film, which she felt was inadequate, and they expected her to travel and promote it for free.
Oprah and Tyler Perry reacted negatively to Mo’Nique’s refusal and began damaging her reputation in the industry, portraying her as difficult to work with.
Mo’Nique claimed that Tyler Perry even went so far as to damage her reputation with director David Tolbert to prevent her from getting acting jobs as a form of punishment. Mo’Nique insisted she had no unreasonable demands and simply declined to travel for promotional events to spend time with her family.
As Taraji continued to call out Oprah, 50 Cent did the same for her, reposting an article about Taraji and announcing his willingness to work with her. He criticized Oprah and expressed support for Taraji, stating, “They dropped the ball. F*** him. Taraji, I’m ready to work. Let’s get it.”
However, after Taraji’s critical remarks about Oprah gained widespread attention and support, she surprisingly backtracked, praising Oprah as a beacon of light and retracting her earlier criticisms.
This reversal led many to speculate that Oprah and the studios might have pressured Taraji into making this post to prevent the film from flopping due to a potential boycott.
Seeing the backlash against her, Oprah quickly posted a photo of herself with Taraji on Instagram, praising her and expressing admiration for her talent. Oprah also teased a sit-down interview with Taraji on her show, which many saw as a desperate attempt to counteract the negative perception of her.
